Adult Religious Education Concerns Group

A Word on Books:
A Classified Bibliography

Topics: basics | history | journals | biography | inward life | testimonies
Bible study | Selecting a Bible
World Religions

If you are reading this on a print copy the web links will do you no good and I'd suggest, if possible, you read it at http://www.pym.org/worship-and-care/arebibli.htm. I am in process of including a sentence or two on each book and will update this from time to time as I progress in this effort. The Yearly Meeting library has book lists (somewhat dated though they will update one on request) at www.pym.org/library/listlist.htm. Below I offer some comments and a recommendation on the variety of Bibles available.

As an experiential religion our theology is found particularly in our history, the record of our progress as a people of God, and through the lives of eminent Friends as they endeavored to know and do God's will in own lives. You will find histories, biographies, and journals prominent in this bibliography. Many other journals are now out of print but can often be found in used bookstores. Also prominent are works on the testimonies as our faith is defined more by how we live it than the words we use to describe it. Any of the books below should be available to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting members from the Yearly Meeting Library or for anyone by purchase at the FGC Bookstore, the Quaker Hill Bookstore, the Pendle Hill Bookstore, or other Quaker bookstores. Pendle Hill Pamphlets are best ordered directly from Pendle Hill (they will copy out of print pamphlets). In what follows I use the following abbreviations for some of the major Quaker publishers: FUP is Friends United Press in Richmond, IN; PH is Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA with pamphlets being PHP# followed by the number; QHS is Quaker Home Service in London, England. Quakers United In Publications (QUIP) maintains an online database of all Quaker books available.

I begin with a list of books which would be the basis of any Quaker library. Next are some suggestions for group reading and discussion (study). Then are sections for other books on Quakerism, divided into general works, history, biography (including journals), the inner life, and testimonies grouped by areas such as peace. I am in the process of providing comments on these works (I welcome your comments and suggestions). I conclude with some observations on selecting a Bible.

Basics

In addition to a Bible and a copy of our Yearly Meeting's discipline, or (Faith and Practice, which is the corporate understanding of what it is to be a member of the Religious Society of Friends in each Yearly Meeting). I would consider the following five books basic to any Quaker library:

Barclay, Robert. Barclay's Apology in Modern English. Edited by Dean Friday, (Newberg, OR: Barclay Press, 1967). A modern version of the classic (and maybe only systematic) statement of Quaker theology. See http://www.qis.net/~daruma/barclay.html

Fox, George. Journal of George Fox. John L. Nickalls editor, (London: RSoF, 1975) This is the seminal work of Quakerism. There is also published by Quaker Home Service a guide to the Nickalls edition.

Kelly, Thomas R. A Testament of Devotion (Harper's), if possible get the one introduced by Douglas Steere rather than Richard Foster (who abridged it). This should be available from Quaker Home Service in England or Quaker Book Service in Ottawa (Harper's holds the U.S. copyright and as far as I know only prints the Richard Foster edition). You can order it from the FGC Bookstore but specify which edition.

Woolman, John. The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman. edited by Philips Moulton. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. Reprinted in a more affordable edition by FUP). An earlier edition can be found online at http://parallel.park.uga.edu/~davidp/woolman.html.

And lastly a good general history. I recommend The Quakers by Hugh Barbour & J. William Frost. (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. FUP reprinted it as an affordable paperback). Other good treatments include Portrait in Grey by John Punshon (QHS, 1984) which gives an English perspective; and The Rich Heritage of Quakerism by Walter R. Williams (Newberg, OR: Barclay Press, 1987), written in 1967 and recently updated with an epilogue by Paul Anderson, provides an evangelical viewpoint.

Recommendations for Study Groups and First Day School

Brinton, Howard. Friends for 350 Years. (PH, 2002). The origional Friends for 300 Years was my introduction to Quakerism (and has been for many others) and it is still my choice for a textbook in teaching Quakerism 101. He explains Quakerism as experiential religion. This edition includes an "historical update and notes by Margaret Hope Bacon."

Cooper, Wilmer. A Living Faith: An Historical Study of Quaker Beliefs. (FUP, 1990). A good introduction to our faith by the former Dean of Earlham School of Religion. There are questions for discussion at the end of each chapter.

Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978). A discussion of various disciplines by the well-known evangelical Friend. A study guide is available.

Gwyn, Douglas. Apocalypse of the Word. (FUP, 1986). A stimulating study of the early days of the Quaker movement. A study guide is available from FUP.

Newman, Daisy. A Procession of Friends. (FUP, 1980). A collection of stories and vignettes from Quaker history. It is suitable to be read alone, or aloud in a group of almost all ages.

Pym, Jim. Listening to the Light. (London: Rider, 1999). A good introduction to Quakerism that will, in places, challenge more seasoned Friends

Steere, Douglas V., editor. Quaker Spirituality: Selected Writings. (New York: Paulist Press, 1984). A good anthology for individual or group reading, with an excellent introduction by Douglas Steere which has been published separately by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.

General Works

Benson, Lewis. Catholic Quakerism (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1966). And here is meant catholic in its original sense of universal.

Brayshaw, A. Neave. The Quakers. (York, England: Sessions of York, 1982).

Hubbard, Geoffrey. Quaker by Convincement. (Penguin Books, 1974).

Jones, Rufus. "Rethinking Quaker Principles" (PHP#. 1940) Available on line at the Pendle Hill web site at http://www.pendlehill.org/pdf%20files/rethinking%20quaker%20principles.pdf

West, Jessamyn, editor. The Quaker Reader. (New York: The Viking Press, 1962). A very good anthology recently republished by PH.

Wilson, Lloyd Lee. Essays on the Quaker Vision of Gospel Order. (Burnsville, NC: Cleo Press, 1993).

Writings of Early Friends

Bownas, Samuel. A Description of the Qualifications Necessary to a Gospel Minister. (PH, 1989). A reprint of the 18^th century classic with some modernization of the language.

Fell, Margaret. A Sincere and Constant Love: An Introduction to the Work of Margaret Fell. Edited by Terry S. Wallace. (FUP, 1992).

Fox, George The Power of the Lord is Over All: The Pastoral Letters of George Fox. Introduced and Edited by T. Canby Jones. (FUP, 1989).

Garman, Mary, Judith Applegate, Margaret Benefiel, and Dortha Meredith. Hidden in Plain Sight: Quaker Women's Writings 1650-1700. (PH, 1996).

Pennington. Isaac. The Light Within and Selected Writings. (Philadelphia: Tract Association of Friends).

Penn, William. No Cross, No Crown. (FUP, 1981).

History

Gwyn, Douglas. Apocalypse of the Word. (FUP, 1986).

Newman, Daisy. A Procession of Friends. (FUP, 1980). A collection of stories and vignettes from Quaker history suitable to be read alone, or aloud in a group of almost all ages.

Hamm, Thomas D. The Transformation of American Quakerism: Orthodox Friends, 1980-1907. A scholarly history including the Gurneyite/Wilberite separations and the origins of the pastoral system.

Holden, David E. W. Friends Divided: Conflict and Division in the Society of Friends. (FUP: 1988).

Ingle, H. Larry. Quakers in Conflict: The Hicksite Reformation. (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1986). A history of the Hicksite/Orthodox separation.

Sharman, Cecil W. George Fox & the Quakers. (QHS & FUP 1991).

Journals

In addition to the journals of George Fox and John Woolman mentioned above, there are currently in print several others:

Bacon, Margaret Hope, editor. Wilt Thou Go on My Errand?: Three 18th Century Journals of Quaker Women Ministers (PH, 1994).

Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experience Among Friends
By Howard H. Brinton. Focuses on early Quaker journals and the writers' personal journeys into truth. Pendle Hill, 1972.

Coffin, Levi Reminiscences of Levi Coffin. Edited by Ben Richmond (FUP, 1991).

Ferris, David. Resistence and Obedience to God: Memoirs of David Ferris, edited by Martha Paxson Grundy (FGC, 2000).

Biography

Anderson, Jervis. Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've See. The story of the organizer of the 1963 march on Washington. (Univ. of CA, 1997)

Bacon, Margaret Hope. Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott. (New York: Walker & Co., 1980).

Bittle, William G. James Nayler 1618-1660: The Quaker Indicted by Parliament. (York, England: William Sessions, Ltd. With FUP, 1986). A biography of the Friend who, for a time, shared leadership of the early movement with George Fox.

Ingle, H. Larry. First Among Friends: George Fox and the Creation of Quakerism. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). A scholarly biography of the Founder of the Quaker movement.

Rose, June. Elizabeth Fry: A Biography. (QHS, 1994)

Swift, David E. Joseph John Gurney. (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 1962). A biography of the English Friend who transformed American Quakerism.

The Inner Life

Cronk, Sandra. Dark Night Journey. (PH, 1991).

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978). See above "recommendations for study groups."
----. Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. (San Francisco: Harper, 1992).

Loring, Patricia. Listening Spirituality. (Openings Press, 1997. two volumes)
Volume I Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends.
Volume II Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends.

Steere, Douglas. Dimensions of Prayer: Cultivating a Relationship with God. (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1997).

I would also recommend two non-Quaker books on prayer:

• Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom (Paulist Press, 1970). He is an Orthodox Archbishop.
• Creative Prayer by Brigid E. Herman. (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 1998).

Worship and Ministry

Bownas, Samuel. A Description of the Qualifications Necessary to a Gospel Minister. (PH, 1989). A reprint of the 18^th century classic with some modernization of the language.

Gorman, George H. The Amazing Fact of Quaker Worship. (QHS, 1973).

Kline, Florence Ruth with Marty Grundy, editors. Companions Along the Way: Spiritual Formation Within the Quaker tradition. (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 2000).

Loring, Patricia. Listening Spirituality. (Openings Press, 1997. two volumes) Volume II Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends.

Punshon, John. Encounter with Silence. (FUP & QHS, 1987).

Steere, Douglas. On Speaking out of the Silence: Vocal Ministry in the Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship. PHP, 1972.

Taber, William. "Four Doors to Meeting for Worship" (PHP#306)

Community (Business, Matthew 18)

Cronk, Sandra. "Gospel Order" (PHP #297, 1991).

Loring, Patricia. "Spiritual Discernment and the Use of Clearness Committees among Friends" (PHP#, 1992).

Morley, Barry. "Beyond Consensus: Salvaging the Sense of the Meeting" (PHP#307, 1993).

Sheeran, Michael J., S.J. Beyond Majority Rule: Voteless Decisions in the Religious Society of Friends. (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1983).

also recommended is the "Pastoral Care Newsletter" published by PYM. Contact Steveg@pym.org at 800-220-0796 ext. 7068.

Testimonies and Concerns

Simplicity | Peace | Integrity | The Creation
Equality: gender, race & sexual orientation

Brinton, Howard. Quaker Journals. (PH, 1972).

Dale, Jonathan. Faith in Action: Quaker Social Testimony. (QHS, 2000).

Kenworthy, Leonard, editor. Friends Face the World: Continuing and Current Quaker Concerns. FUP, 1987. A collection of twenty essays on traditional testimonies and emerging concerns.

Lacey, Paul. "Leading and Being Led" (PHP #264). An essay on Quaker discernment in relation to leadings and concerns.

"The Nature and Variety of Concern" (QHS, 1986). The report of a working group of London (now Britain) Yearly Meeting.

Punshon, John. "Testimony and Tradition: Swarthmore Lecture 1990" (QHS, 1990).

Richmond, Ben. Testimonies. (FUP, 1993). An excellent curriculum for teaching the testimonies, tracing their roots in the Bible and the experience of early Friends into modern times. Available from Quaker Hill Bookstore at 800-537-8838 or The FGC Bookstore at 800-966-4556.

Tucker, R.W. "Structural Incongruities in Quaker Service" (Quaker Religious Thought V XIII #1 Autumn 1971).

Wilcutts, Jack. Why Friends Are Friends (Newberg, OR: Barclay Press, 1984).

Equality: Race

John Woolman's Journal (Woolman, John. The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman. FUP.)

The Reminiscences of Levi Coffin. (Coffin, Levi Reminiscences of Levi Coffin. Edited by Ben Richmond (FUP, 1991).

Bayard Rustin, (Anderson, Jervis. Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've See. The story of the organizer of the 1963 march on Washington. Univ. of CA, 1997)

Equality: Gender
See also "women" under Bible.

Bacon, Margaret Hope. Mothers of Feminism. (San Francisco: Harper &Row, 198?).

Equality: Sexual Orientation

Wink, Walter. editor Homosexuality and Christian Faith: Questions of Conscience for the Churches. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999)

Concern for God's Creation

Gould, Lisa Lofland. Caring for Creation: Reflection on the Biblical Basis of Earthcare. (Burlington, VT: Friends Committee on Unity with Nature, 1999).

Integrity

Cooper, Wilmer. "The Testimony of Integrity" (PHP #296, 1991).

Peace
 

Apsey, Lawrence. Transforming Power for Peace. Philadelphia: Friends General Conference, 2001.

Brinton, Howard. “The Peace Testimony of the Society of Friends”. (Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee, 1981).

Brock, Peter. Pioneers of the Peaceable Kingdom. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. Also his The Quaker Peace Testimony 1660 to 1914. York, England: Sessions Book Trust, 1990.

Brueggemann, Walter. Peace. (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001). Brueggemann is not a Quaker but this book is excellent on Biblical peacemaking (Shalom).

Cronk, Sandra. "Peace Be with You" (Philadelphia: Tract Association of Friends). Available for $1.00 (English or Spanish) from the Tract Association of Friends, 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102.

Daniels, Brian, editor. The Pursuit of Peace: An Adult Elective Curriculum from Friends United Meeting. Richmond, IN: Friends United Press, 1993.

Fager, Chuck, editor. Papers from the Quaker Peace Roundtable: Pendle Hill, 1995. Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill, 1996.

Garver, Newton and Eric Reitan. "Nonviolence and Community: Reflections on the Alternatives to Violence Project" Pendle Hill Pamphlet #322. Wallingford, Pennsylvania: Pendle Hill Publications, 1995.

Herr, Robert and Judy Zimmerman-Herr, editors. Transforming Violence: Linking Local and Global Peacemaking. Scottsdale: Herald Press, 1998. Includes valuable Quaker essays by Elise Boulding ("Cultures of Peace and Communities of Faith") and Walter Wink ("Jesus’ Third Way").

Jeavons, Thomas. Terrorism and the Quaker Peace Testimony” Pendle Hill Monday Night Lecture, November 5, 2001. Available from the Yearly Meeting library, or at http://www.pendlehill.org/new_page_5.htm

Juhnke, James C. and Carol M. Hunter. The Missing Peace: The Search for Npn-violet Alternatives in United States History. Pandora Press, 2001.

Lakey, George. "The Sword that Heals." Is published by Training For Change, and may also be found on the web at www.trainingforchange.org/reports_0103_pacifism.html.

Wink, Walter. The Powers That Be. (New York: Galilee Doubleday, 1998.) An overview of the thought of this prominent Quaker (attender) thinker.

Woolman, John. The Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman. Edited by Phillips P. Moulton. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971. (paperback by Friends United Press). Chapter 5 is particularly pertinent to issues of war taxes.

See also the PYM Library book list

Simplicity

Foster, Richard J. Freedom of Simplicity. (San Francisco: Harper & Row: 1981).

Prevallet, Elaine. "Reflections on Simplicity" (PHP #244)

Quaker Resources for Bible Study

Anderson, Paul. The Christology of the Fourth Gospel: Its Unity and Disunity in the Light of John 6. (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997).

Companions Along the Way: Spiritual Formation Within the Quaker tradition. edited by Florence Ruth Kline with Marty Grundy. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 2000. There are three short, but very useful, articles on Quaker Bible study in Part IV.

Reichardt, Dorothy. "Finding Our Way in the Bible: A Bible Course for Adults." Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1986, revised 1991. Available from The FGC Bookstore (800)966-4556.

"Uses of Scripture by Early Friends" is the subject of the September 2001 Quaker Religious Thought #97 (volume 30, No. 3). Howard Macy's "Reflections on Contemporary Bible Translation" also appeared in an earlier volume of this journal, volume 29, No. 4 (February 2000). QRT is the bi-annual journal of the Quaker Theological Discussion Group: business matters to Paul Smith, Religion Department, George Fox University, Newberg, OR 97132.

You can also go to the PYM library book list at http://www.pym.org/library/lists/biblcurr.htm. For those interested in further study, Oxford University has a very useful web site.

Other Resources

Old Testament (Hebrew scriptures, though that term is not strictly accurate)

• Anderson, Bernard W. Understanding the Old Testament. A standard texst book used in colleges and seminarys (Catholic and Protestant).
• Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction (Paulist Press, 1985) A good introduction reflecting modern scholarship.
• Heschel, Abraham J. The Prophets.(Harper: Perennial Classics, 1955). A leading Jewish scholar and activist's reflections.
• Newsome, James D. Jr. The Hebrew Prophets. (John Knox Press, 1984). More academic, a college text presenting the prophets in their historical and theological context.
• Sarna, Nahum M. Understanding Genesis: The World of the Bible in the
  Light of History. (Schocken 1966).

New Testament

• Brown, Raymond. An Introduction to the New Testament. (Anchor)

Useful books on the Bible by non-Quakers, but on Quaker concerns include:

Peace

• Brueggemann, Walter. Peace (Chalice Press, 2001). In the "Understanding Biblical Themes" series and by a major scholar, this book focuses on Shalom.

Women's issues

• Klein, Lillian R. From Deborah to Esther: Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003)
• Petersen, John. Reading Women's Stories: Female Characters in the Hebrew Bible. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004)

See also the PYM list at www.pym.org/library/lists/biblgen.htm

A Note on Bibles

The Apocrypha

One issue in selecting a Bible is the Apocrypha (Deuterocanon). In first century the many Jews living in the Greek speaking world, particularly Alexandria in Egypt, relied more often on the Greek Septuagint (LXX for the 70 translators) translation of the Hebrew scriptures. This LXX included books not found in the Palestine (Hebrew) canon. When Jerome translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate) the LXX is what he used and this has been the basis for Catholic Bibles ever since. A careful reading of the Old Testiment in Catholic translation still reflects the Greek influence. When Martin Luther translated the Bible into German he excluded those books not in the Hebrew canon from his translation, and translated the Hebrew scriptures from the Hebrew. In the early King James Bibles the deuterocanonical (second canon = Apocrypha) books were collected in a separate section as useful in liturgy but not authoritative. Catholic Bibles will include the deuterocanonical books in the original sequence found in the LXX. Most Protestants won't include them at all. Bibles published by Oxford in particular, but also sometimes by others following the Anglican tradition, will usually offer these books in a separate section (my preference). For more information see Access' Great Books page.

Translations

There were several translations of the Bible in use in England in George Fox's day. The Authorized Version, authorized by King James and for that reason often called "the King James Version," is the best known, and still widely used, today. Though still valued for its language, its value for study is limited. The language has changed since it was completed (1611), scjholarship has advanced, and manuscripts have been found that predate those used by its translators. Even The American Standard Bible (1901) is dated. I suggest one (or more) of the following.

• The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) incorporates the most recent scholarship and uses gender-inclusive language wherever the original language allows. It is in the tradition of the Authorized Version and the language will have a familiar ring to it. It is my favorite. One Catholic ex-seminarian I know said that at seminary they would cut the pages out and insert them in their Catholic Bibles as study notes.
• The Revised English Bible (REB, updates the New English Bible, both ecumenical efforts involving British Quakers) is another excellent recent translation.
• The New International Version (NIV) is an evangelical effort and the translation, as well as the notes in the study edition, while for the most part excellent, reflect an evangelical theology.
• The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic effort and therefore has the Apocrypha integrated into the Hebrew scriptures. It was translated with public (liturgical) reading in mind and treats the poetry of scripture the best to my mind, and the study version has excellent notes. Where other Bibles use "the Lord" in deference to the Jewish practice of not speaking God's name, the NJB Hebrew scriptures use the name Yahweh.
• The New American Bible (NAB, another recent Catholic translation) is excellent in the New Testament. A weakness of both these Catholic translations (from my point of view) is that the Hebrew Scriptures reflect the influence of the Septuagint (LXX) rather more than the original Hebrew.
• The Good News Bible is an effort of the American Bible Society to make the Bible accessible in simpler English.

The Living Bible, The Word, and Peterson's The Message are examples of paraphrases with the advantages (easy reading) and disadvantages (someone else's interpretation) that implies. The Amplified Bible seeks to address the issue of different possible meanings for a word by including alternate translations in parentheses, and the translator's clarifications in brackets.

For more on this I recommend Howard Macy's article "Reflections on Contemporary Bible Translation" in Quaker Religious Thought volume 29, No. 4 (February 2000).

Study Bibles

There are many study Bibles available and I can't list them all. The Scofield Reference Bible has been around for over a century and is a fascinating read for those of an analytical bent, but it reflects a dispensational theology with which many Friends would probably be uncomfortable. The Anchor Bible is an invaluable resource but probably too expensive for all but a college library. The Delaware County Library System (as an example) has many of the volumes, but no one library (in that system) has more than a few. The PYM library has many and it is an excellent resource for a bible study group if you are going to spend time on a particular book. For the rest of us, it is good to be aware of it but it goes well beyond most of our needs. Zondervan publishes the NIV Study Bible, and here the translation and notes work together for evangelical purpose. The NIV Study Bible, along with the NRSV Harper Study Bible (also published by Zondervan), have the advantage of having a brief concordance, which the Catholic and Oxford Study Bibles don't. The two Catholic translations I mentioned above (NAB and NJB) are both available in excellent study editions which reflect recent scholarship. Quakers may be distracted by notes mentioning Catholic issues (Vatican II for example), but these are easily identified. Oxford publishes Study Bibles in both the NRSV and the REB, and both with and without the Apocrypha (same price!). I recommend getting the Apocrypha.

In a study group it is useful to have many different translations (esp. NRSV, NAB, NIV, REB and NJB) so as to see the variety of possible meanings a text could have. Having said that, if you are going to buy only one, I recommend The New Revised Standard Version in one of two study Bibles.

• The Harper Collins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocryphal/ Deuterocanonical Books (don't confuse with the Harper Study Bible published by Zondervan). It was published with The Society of Biblical Literature, which is the formost scholarly organization in the field.
• The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version.

• The Oxford Study Bible: Revised English Bible with the Apocrypha

World Religions

The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide To Our Wisdom Traditions.
by Huston Smith (Harper San Francisco, 1995)

A History of God. by Karen Armstrong ()

With updates or other questions about this page, please contact
Evan Draper
Monthly Meeting Services Specialist
evand@pym.org
215 241 7182

Last updated March 20, 2007